Hello all

I have booked a nile cruise 8 days on the karim palace and just wondered whether anyone can give me some feedback on this as have read mixed reviews.

Thanks so much

Hi Bobbie

Thank you very much for the review you posted. It's great to have the reassurance that the right choice was made re cruise boat. We're so looking forward to getting there 'though while you were away I was conscious of how quickly the week went after all your months of anticipation! So pleased it sounds as if you had a wonderful holiday with no disappointments!

I seem to have a 'shopping list' of questions for you; hope you don't mind.

1. What currency did you find most useful/convenient?
2. At the end of the week when paying for extras, bar bill etc. were you able to pay with debit/credit card, if not how was payment made?
3. I've seen somewhere that travellers cheque's were not accepted on the boat. Is this right?
4. What were the arrangements for the last day after check-out time and before being taken to the airport?
5. Was the hairdryer power adequate?
6. What sort of electrical plugs/adapters are there, eg 2-pin/flat/round?
7. Was there any evening entertainment?
8. Did you buy a galabeya if so, where?
9. What was the temperature like?
10. We're thinking of taking a travel kettle because some reviews I've read (of various boats) seem to say it's the only way to get a good cup of tea/coffee. Would you agree with that?
11. Were mosquitos or bitey things a problem for you?

Sorry to ask so many q's but you know what it's like; you just want to know everything!!!!

I'll stop now

Jael

hello, my daughter who is eleven is going on the ms miss sara on 17th april,for a seven day cruise with my mam and dad. She loves everything about eygpt. i hope she will enjoy it but i havent found any info about miss sara eg. whats the boat like,is the food good,will she be safe,will my mam and dad be safe..... you know the normal motherly things

Answering based on my own experience

1. What currency did you find most useful/convenient?
Sterling for larger purchase, but some Egyptian necessary for smaller stuff or groceries.

2. At the end of the week when paying for extras, bar bill etc. were you able to pay with debit/credit card, if not how was payment made?
MS Grand Star took Sterling, travellers cheques, and cards. However, watch the exchange rate. Might be better off paying in pre-changed Egyptian as thats what they quote in.

3. I've seen somewhere that travellers cheque's were not accepted on the boat. Is this right?
The MS Grand Star accepted them as payment but couldnt change them.

7. Was there any evening entertainment?
Most nights there was something.

8. Did you buy a galabeya if so, where?
Most boats have a boutique, however you will get it cheaper in a bazaar, even one at a temple, but you must haggle. The boutiques on the boats are fixed price.

9. What was the temperature like?
Hot. Monday in Luxor it was 32 degrees C.

10. We're thinking of taking a travel kettle because some reviews I've read (of various boats) seem to say it's the only way to get a good cup of tea/coffee. Would you agree with that?
They dont seem to understand the need for boiling water for tea, so it might not be a bad idea.

11. Were mosquitos or bitey things a problem for you?
Not especially, but some people did suffer. Recommend a mosi-zap.

Hi Jael
Right lets see what I can do with your questions.
1 We took all sterling, changed very little of it into low denomination Egyption pounds (you need ones etc for tipping etc) Our guide had spare egyptian ones etc he would change for you on the coach if you ran out (dont know if this was common but Hazem certainly did that)
2 Bar bills and extras can be paid on credit cards, tips have to be in cash as you leave them in an envelope. No the boat did not take travellers cheques .. we walked to the bank in Aswan to use the ATM and for one of the party to change some travellers cheques there.
3. On the last day they tell you what time you will be taken to the airport depending on your flight time. You then leave your cabin in the morning (cant remember the time) and leave your cases outside the door to be collected. You can then go up on the sundeck or whatever until it is time to go .. several cabins are set aside as courtesy cabins for people to go and shower and change before leaving if they wish. You can buy drinks etc and pay cash once you have settled your bill.
4. There is a built in hairdryer in the bathroom .. I used a hotbrush and used a normal three to two point round adaptor with no problem at all
5 There was evening entertainment of a sort, Belly dancer/whirling dervish one night, staff show another, nubian dancers another. Not brilliant but passable.
6 We bought galabayas on the ship but you could buy them at one of the stops or from the boats that throw them to you at Esna lock .. up to you.
7 It was in the 30's I think when we were there but as it is dry heat it is hard to tell and not so hard to put up with
8 I dont drink tea personally so I cannot say what the tea was like. My friend does and did .. she did not complain bitterly so it cant have been too bad. Coffee is basically little sachets of Nescafe original which you get at breakfast. The coffee from the lounge in the evening is not too bad.
There are no facilities for making drinks in the cabin so it is up to you if you want to take a kettle.
Hope this helps ... shout if I can tell you anything else. Have a great time and let us all know how you get on
Bobbie

Bobbie-hh & SarahLascelles

Thank you so much for the great response to my questions. I'm not familiar with other similar forums but I have to say that the members of this one are such stars - so kind, warm and generous with their time, advice and experience sharing. I am so grateful to you all. It's now less than 3 weeks til we go and I'll be sure to post a review when I get back.

Jael

Hi All

Any one done a nile cruise on the Oberoi Philae. Also i want to stay at the Winter Palace in Luxor and the Old Cataract in Aswan at either end of the cruise. Some company used to do this cruise but now i cannot find it. Any ideas on who might do it. thanks

Jackie P & CazC

I'm booked on the Ra II in 4 weeks and I would be interested in anyone's experiences of that particular vessel. This will be my first time to Egypt so I would rather go forewarned!

The reviews on this forum are great - very informative.

Thanks

Graeme

I am thinking of a 7 day nile cruise and then a 7 day stay, can anyone recommend a firm that I could book with?

For Jackie P & CazC
I have not used that particular boat but I have seen it quite often. It is a 5* cruiser and looks very nice, at a guess I would say it will be a bit more formal regarding dress code than on some boats. It has small (but impractical) balconies for all of the cabins. Interior decor & cabins look v/good, overall it looks OK. Tour itineries are all the same (within reason) for all Nile cruise boats regardless of star rating, so that will not be a problem for you to worry about. Entertainment is usually very similar on all of the boats, with some good & some bad performers, this is regardless of the star rating for the boat. Entertainment will include 'Whirling Dervish' 'Belly Dancer' Some type of 'Nubian Chief' and other local Egyptian entertainments such as 'Stick Dancing'. There is usually a 'Gallabeya Night' when everyone dresses up and plays a few silly games, all good fun though. I would also imagine that the mix of guests will be a bit more cosmopolitan than on some other boats due to the 5* rating. As for food and ambience I am afraid I cannot comment. Hope this helps.

For Nathangunn,
There are lots of T.A. offering what you want. Depending upon what you are looking for ie the cruise boat rating & hotel rating. I would offer the following advice:

Cruise boats are difficult to define as there are so many variants for different peoples expectations. Is it the luxury you want? is it formal or informal for dinner? do you want A.I. for tours & drinks? are you looking for a mainly British group of holiday makers on the boat with you?

Luxor hotels also fall into a similar range to the above with the same questions to be answered. With experience or good luck it is possible to get everything right first time, but if I were to give you my own best advice it would be this:-

Think about what you are going to Egypt for:

1. Is it to just laze around the pool & chill out in a bit of luxuy? If so go on a 5* boat say the RA II as described above or the Crown Prince. Chose a hotel like the Movenpick on 'Crocodile Island' (outside Luxor) the 'Sonesta St George' or 'Winter Palace' in Luxor itself

2. Are you just mad about the culture and as long as the accomodation is clean and acceptable then you will be very happy soak it all up without having to re-mortgage your house to do it? then go for a 3-4* all inclusive on a boat similar to the 'Nile Legend' and stay in say the 'Mercure Corralia' which is very central to Luxor or 'The Hilton' near to Karnak temple.

3. If it is somewhere in between, ie very nice but not too formal with mostly British travellers on board. Choose a 4* plus boat similar to the 'Nile Commodore' and a hotel such as the 'Sheraton' the 'Mercure Corralia' or 'New Winter Palace'

All of the above can be found in the Thomson (TUI) brochures and I have tried most options. My advice to you as a first timer would be to go for option 3, It will be at least what you hoped for and possibly it will exceed your expectations, it should also be reasonably priced. Avoid booking your cruise during June or the beginning of December due to the Esna lock being closed for maintenance. If I can help further just shout.
Tez

Hi All!

I am completely new to Nile cruises and am desperately searching for a cruise together with a stay in Sharm.

I have tried Thomas Cook and Discover Egypt and it seems the first can only offer this option if we fly from Luxor to Cairo and then Cairo to Sharm, and Discover Egypt have announced that they are no longer doing their Gatwick flight and can therefore can only offer 4 days in Sharm, contrary to what they advertise in their brochure.

Can anyone recommend any operators that will offer this sort of two centre? Also, if anybody has been on such a trip can you let me now what it was like

Thanks!

Claire

Claire

Have you tried Kuoni? We have booked to go with them, 7 nt nile cruise, 1 nt luxor, 6 nts Sharm. It does say in the brochure 5 nts Sharm, but I am sure they can arrange what ever suits you. Hope you find something.

We refused the upgrade and went on the RA II. I can honestly say that it was one of the best holidays we have had. The ship was full and we met several other people who had also been offered the upgrade. (and had also refused!) The cabins are showing signs of age, but were clean (they were cleaned twice a day). You can't really sit on the balcony, but it was nice to open the doors and watch the scenery. One of the good things about the RA II was that it had its own mooring at Luxor, so was not sandwiched between lots of other ships. I think we only had to walk through one other boat once during our cruise. (and that was the RA I). The atmosphere was really friendly and the staff were very helpful. There was always a wide range of dishes at mealtimes. We didn't go to all the entertainment as we had a few early morning starts and the entertainment tended to start late (10PM). I had been told that a Nile cruise was not relaxing; there are a lot of early starts (3am for Abu Simbel!), but there was also time to sit on deck and relax. I would certainly recommend a Nile cruise and the RA II. We booked through Longwood - there were about 18 Longwood passengers on the cruise and we doubled up with the Somak group to make about 28 of us altogether.We only did the cruise, but a lot of others had either been to another resort before or were going on somewhere else after. We did wish that we had booked a night or two in Cairo after the cruise so we could see the pyramids, but will have to save that for another day!

Hi

i appreciate this maybe should go in the NILE CRUISES sticky thread, but i wasnt sure.
has anyone got any pictures of the MS Nile Saray as i would like to see them before i depart,

thanks

Hi

im staying on the MS Nile Saray in June and im a bit unsure what the dress code for dinner will be, i.e do men need to wear trousers and a shirt?
any help would be much appreciated - thanks

hI, we are going on RA11 in a couple of weeks, wondered if you could answer a few questions for us. Do we need to take towels or are they supplied? Is there a hairdrier in the cabin? What price are the drinks (beer mainly)? and lastly, what kind of food was there? We would appreciate any answers, Thanks
Neelix

Hello,
Answers to your questions - towels are provided both in the cabin and on the sundeck; there is a small hairdryer in the cabin - not incredibly powerful, but it does the job; drinks were more expensive than we were expecting - large bottles of water were reasonable (60p), but cans of beer were about £2.50, a bottle of wine was £10; there was a wide range of food for every meal - breakfast was breads, cereals, fruit, yoghurt, cooked breakfast or freshly made pancakes/omelettes - lunch and dinner was salads, a selection of hot food; fish, meat (turkey, duck, beef, chicken), vegetable and potato dishes, rice, pasta,etc. Desserts were not too exciting - they looked good, but were a little bland. It was really cheap to have clothes washed (about 50p for a T shirt) so don't take loads of clothes.
Let me know if you need anymore info. Have a great time - we did!
Caz

Caz has now posted about all the info you need for ra11 there is one other bit that may forwarn you,as caz states the ra moorings are well away from the other cruise boats dont be put off when everybody else is dropped off for their boats,your journey will be somewhat 'interesting' through a very dilapidated area to the boat(we did it at night my wife thought we were being kidknapped) but it is quite plush when you arrive.

Thanks to both of you for the prompt replies and advice. Last question (i think) how were the mozzies as the wife has been quite prone to bites in the past and we have had to seek out a doctor twice before so she is a little worried. She is taking anti biotics with her this time though. Thank you again, we can't wait.
Neelix